Formicarium
by Spooky ghost flower
Summary: He didn't know why he was so captivated by her. Meruem and Komugi, high school human AU.
1. Chapter 1

He wasn't sure why he agreed to be in the Gungi tournament. Maybe it was Pitou's fault, urging him to go use his "talents" to win the contest. They had wanted a new sewing machine and the prize money was more than enough to pay for it. Meruem wasn't that interested, but it wasn't like he had anything else to do. Besides, being busy to keep his family off his back was something that he wanted. They were always pressuring him to do stuff that he honestly didn't want to do. "You're so smart, you could be a brain surgeon, Meruem" "Why don't you be like your brother?" "You're the family heir and also incredibly intelligent why did you want to waste your life away when you can create so many things, Meruem." So annoying.

But here he was. At the tournament. Bored out of his mind. So far he had completely slaughtered his competition. None of them had lasted over five minutes, which was funny because he had learned the game the day before. He was sitting in the corner of the large gym it was being held in. A sticker with the number 107 stuck to his chest. He was the last one to arrive. Always being late was one of his less desirable traits. Short tables dotted the floor, and people deep in thought studied the game boards on them. Bystanders and those waiting to be called stood or sat on the sidelines. Many chatted with friends also attending. He adjusted his green chullo hat. At least that was his friend. Jeez, now he was acting like his hat was a person just because he knew literally no one there.

Meruem scanned over the competitors, there were a lot of weirdos who looked like they hadn't showered in two years. One kid had just won a game, and was rolling on the floor. It was just a board game, not that exciting. The other kid who lost was crying. Wow. Guess it was intense for some people. Meruem was startled out of his gaze when the overhead speaker came on.

"Number 107 and Number 68 to board 5, please."

He sat up and trudged over to the low table. A tired sigh accidentally escaped him, causing his opponent, thin, nervous guy, to glare at him. The man had greased back hair and an air of confidence.

"Be prepared to lose," the guy said cockily.

"I wouldn't say that," he replied.

The game lasted two minutes.

When he arrived back in his little corner, it was still warm from when he sat there earlier. Just as he sat down, he noticed a commotion. A lot of people were gathered around one pair. He couldn't see them from where he was. Suddenly a loud chorus of OOOOHHHs erupted. Interesting.

An hour had passed before he was called again. He had almost fallen asleep, due to the quiet murmur of the warm gym. The announcement confused him for a second, before he realized that he was actually a finalist. The very last match would be between him and someone named… Kogi? Komodo? Something like that.

This match was on the stage, so that spectators could see. As he walked towards it, he heard whispers.

"I feel bad for whoever is going up against Komugi, they're going to get destroyed," said a voice.

"At least they get the prize for being in second place," the other replied.

Meruem cocked an eyebrow. So this person must be really good, huh? Too bad he had to ruin their winning streak. You see, Meruem had never lost. And he wasn't planning on changing that. It wasn't that he had some bizarre complex, he was just good at everything he entered.

He made his way to his spot on stage and waited. A girl with very light, puffy brown hair came up. She had a stick and was gently tapping it against the floor, and her eyes were closed. Realization that she was blind hit him. Was she his opponent?

She sat down on the other side, and smiled nervously. "Uh, hello? My name is Komugi! It's an honor to play against you!" The girl bowed her head quickly. Her snubby nose was running, and she seemed unaware of it.

Meruem had no interest in being acquainted with her. "May we begin?"

"Yes, yes," she said excitedly. Her bangs were flopping all over head, and if it weren't for the rest of her hair being tied to the side, he suspected that it would be all over the place too. The girl's thick eyelashes fluttered, and her eyes opened. They were a shocking bright blue, but blank of any sight.

Twenty minutes passed. Meruem was growing frustrated. Every move he played, she had completely blocked and then moved forward. This was the hardest game he had ever played. He wasn't used to feeling like he was losing. It was an odd feeling. The girl, Komugi, remained quiet during the game, only announcing her plays and sneezing once in awhile. A bit of snot had gotten on the board, which was honestly pretty gross.

"Spy 5-2-1."

He blinked. She had won. How did this happen? Was he… not good enough? This can't be happening. Maybe it was a fluke. He was getting tired, after all. He looked up at her. She yawned.

"Again."

Komugi looked confused. Before she could speak, the announcer came on stage.

"Congratulations to this year's winner of our city's Gungi competition! First place is five hundred thousand jenny! Second place is twenty five thousand! And third place is five thousand! Thank you everyone for coming! Now, here are our winners: Third place: Number 2, please come up and collect your prize. Second place: Number 107. And first place, our five-time reigning champion, Number 13, Komugi!"

The audience applauded. Another contestant, Number 2, came and took her prize. Meruem took the check for twenty five thousand jenny. He didn't really know what to buy with it so he tucked it away to give to Pitou later. Komugi was waving nervously at the crowd. A staff member helped her off the stage and gave her her white cane back. He rushed down to speak to her.

"We must play again," he said.

"Huh? I was just going home, but I can-"

"What school do you go to?"

"East Gorteau?"

"Meet me in the library at 12:30 tomorrow. Don't be late." With that statement, he left.

He got home around six. Only his sister, Kite, was home. Meruem lived with his older brother, Colt, and Kite. His mother had died giving birth to Kite and him, and his father was always out of the picture. For some reason, his mother's extensive family decided that Meruem was going to be their company's next CEO. Their business was called Chimera Ants Corporation, and he honestly had no idea what they sold.

"Meruem," his sister greeted. She was in the kitchen making food in a pot. "I heard you were at a Gungi tournament. How did it go?"

"I got second place."

Kite stopped stirring the-soup?- and looked at him. "Guess someone is finally better than you at something."

"Yes. I made an appointment to play against the winner once again. What are you making?" He crept over to look into the pot.

"Matzo ball soup. Don't touch," she said and swatted his hand away from the pot.

"Ging recipe?" He asked.

"Yeah. Hey did you know that his son goes to our school now? We should say hello tomorrow."

Before Colt was old enough to have custody over Meruem and Kite, they were separated. Kite stayed with an odd man named Ging, who traveled a lot and liked animals. Meruem stayed with Pitou's family, which is how he met them. Colt was unlucky and was with a horrible couple who didn't realize the effort of raising children. The extended family earlier who "loved their daughter so much" couldn't be bothered to raise her children. That was what caused his resentment towards them.

"Are you okay?" Kite asked. He must have been staring off into space.

"Yeah." She smiled gently at him and ruffled his hat. Meruem scowled and fixed it, carefully draping the ear flaps.

He left the kitchen to go to his bedroom. Most teenagers his age had video game posters, messy clothes everywhere, and objects from hobbies. Meruem had a tidy room with bookshelves and a desk with a computer. The colors in his room weren't matching enough to look nice, but not so contrasted as to be distracting. His bed was from IKEA or somewhere like that. His room was incredibly bleh to be in if it weren't for the large formicarium propped against a wall.

He walked over and knelt by it. It was a gift from his grandfather who meant it as a joke, but he thoroughly enjoyed taking care of the tiny insects. He had a small cup of water to the side, and carefully dropped some into the ant farm. The formicarium was the love of his life, and he invested almost all of his pocket money into making sure the ants were fine in their two panes of glass.

"Did you already eat all the food I put in here this morning? Tsk tsk," he hummed, taking out a cracker and breaking it into crumbs.

Meruem watched the ants scuttle for food. He laid down and put his head in his hands to watch them. They were so small, so helpless, so weak. If he wanted, Meruem could easily crush them all. He sighed. Watching the ants and the quiet noise of Kite in the kitchen gently lulled him to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

It had started raining overnight and had steadily gotten more intense until it was basically a downpour. The windows of the classrooms were so blurred with water one could barely see through them. Meruem was sitting at a desk by one of these said windows, watching the water droplets roll down. Pitou slid into the chair next to him.

"Can I have the prize money from the Gungi competition? I mean, unless you're using it for somethin' else but-"

"I did not win first place. I however did get some jenny from coming second place. I understand if you do not wish to accept it."

Pitou's eyebrows went up comically. They were very expressive, and had large hands that they often used to describe what they were speaking about. "No way! You're like. The king. Of like. Everything. And you lost? Wait 'til Pouf hears about this!" They got out their phone and started texting, before pausing. "Who did you lose to?"

Meruem dismissed them with a glance. "No one important. I will be having another match with her today to prove the first was just a stroke of luck."

They whistled at that. "Oh look, class' starting. See ya later!"

As Pitou went to their seat, Meruem frowned in thought. It had to have been a fluke.

The rest of his classes before lunch passed uneasily. The rain kept pouring down, making the linoleum floors slick and slippery. He hadn't brought an umbrella, but his hat kept any rain drops from his eyes.

It had been quite a coincidence that Komugi went to the same school as Meruem. He had never seen her before, but that was expected as he didn't bother himself to learn who his classmates were. They were too insignificant, too below him. Only formidable opponents or those who tried enough to make themselves stand out enough for him to notice them earned his respect. He was the king of the school, and they were all his meaningless subjects.

The library was empty except for a teacher sorting papers in a corner. There was still ten minutes until 12:30, so Meruem sat down at a table and began to set up the Gungi board. It only took him a few minutes, so he pulled out his phone and looked at his messages. There were two from Pitou, one from Youpi, two from Kite, and… thirteen from Pouf. He sighed but decided to read them as there wasn't anything else to do.

Pitou: hey lol pouf is freaking out =^.^=

Pitou: so i told him you were on a date and now hes screaming =^.^=

Youpi: hey where are you?

Kite: after school Colt wants us to have dinner with Ging and his son

Kite: be nice to them or I'll punch you

Pouf: Hello Meruem, I made you cookies and brought them!

Pouf: Where would you like to sit for lunch today? XD

Pouf: Haha I see Pitou, but where are you?

Pouf: Are you okay?

Pouf: You're not dead are you?

Pouf: I'm going to call Colt, I hope you're okay!

Pouf: Oh, Pitou says they know where you are! So it's fine! It's fine!

Pouf: I hope you're da

Pouf: wait a secoesd

Pouf: dATE?

Pouf: wHy DiD yOu NoT teLL Me?

Pouf: WHO ARE YOU WITH

Pouf: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Meruem decided he was better off not replying.

The library door swung open, and Komugi walked in, almost completely soaked. Snot was running out her nose, and her hair was sticking to her head. He scowled in disgust, how gross and unsanitary. Plus, she must be incredibly stupid to allow herself to get so wet. Honestly, it was like she was trying to make herself as pitiful as possible.

"Hello, Mr. Opponent?" She called out tentatively.

"I am here. I have set up the board."

"I am terribly sorry, but please could you show me to the table? The rain is loud. I would really appreciate it. I'm really sorry to be such a burden," she said, nervously twisting her dress.

He got up and led her by her arm to the table. "Shall we begin?"

"Yes, yes, I just want to say thank you so much for playing with me again!" Komugi smiled softly.

"It is fine. Why are you soaked?" He wasn't asking to be kind, rather from having watched the drops of water drip onto the floor since she walked in.

"Oh, I'm sorry, is it bothersome? I don't really have any clothes here at school… I suppose I could get clothes from home… but that's an hour away and they will probably be be wet when I get back… and I wouldn't want to leave you waiting that would be incredibly rude of me… even now I am postponing our game! I'm sorry!" She wailed, before quickly doing a sort of half-bow.

"Calm down. I'll ask Neferpitou to bring something. Otherwise you will be distracted by your clothes."

Meruem: Pitou do you have any extra clothes in your locker or something. I need them in the library

Pitou: ya why?

Meruem: my opponent is an idiot and got completely wet and I don't want an advantage over her that isn't mental

Pitou: that's kinda weird but ok =^.^=

As they waited for Pitou, Meruem decided to make idle talk. "How have you become the Gungi champion for five straight years? Did you have a teacher?"

"No, no. I live in a family of twelve, you see. We have never had much money, and the only free club in my elementary school was Gungi Club. I learned the basics, but soon beat even the teacher. Then I went through Regionals, Nationals, until I am now branded as the best player of Gungi in our country. The winnings I get from Gungi are the only reason my family keeps me around. If it weren't for the money, I would be long gone," she said matter-of-factly.

How unsettling. "But the winnings weren't enough for an entire family," he said.

"No, but I made some more through more underground dealings, if you know what I mean. Oh! Please don't tell anybody! Wait, actually, I shouldn't be telling you what to do! I'm sorry! Please forgive me!" She started rapidly bowing.

"Uh, I won't tell anybody."

She visibly lightened up. "Thank you so much! I don't deserve your kindness, you are truly a wonderful person."

Meruem furrowed his brow. He wasn't, really. Afterall, he had done terrible things and was practically the terror of the school. Really the only reason he was there was to cause trouble for everyone. It wasn't like he had decided it, it was just the way things were. How they had always been. Shaiapouf, Menthuthuyoupi, Neferpitou, and Meruem, the deciders and rulers of how things came to be. And Meruem was at the center, the king of it all, sitting on a metaphoric throne. So, how could he, who regularly wrecked havoc, be a wonderful person? Be, so much to say it, kind?

Pitou walked in with a bundle in their arms. "Yo, your Highness. Your Majesty. Supreme Ruler of East Gorteau. I have brought your highly requested, essential packages. Long live the kingdom. Amen." They ended their mini-speech with an extravagant bow.

"Supreme Ruler? Is that your title?" Asked Komugi.

"Yes, he is the Supreme Ruler. Governor of… the ant kingdom," said Pitou, shaking in barely-controlled laughter. "We must show him the utmost respect."

"Can you give her the clothes or not? I do not wish to repeat myself," he said, not amused.

"Yeah, whatever. Um, here ya go," they said, awkwardly handing the clothes to Komugi.

"Thank you so much. I'm indebted to you. This was entirely my fault and I'm really sorry to cause such an inconvenience to you. I'll try to return these clean and folded to you as soon as possible!" Komugi said, hugging the clothes to her chest.

"Uh, yeah, no problem. And you can keep them, they're just old clothes I have for emergencies," Pitou replied, watching as some of Komugi's snot dribbled on her shirt. "Yeah, you can definitely keep it."

"You don't have to stay here," Meruem said through gritted teeth.

"Then! I'll be, uh, goin'! Haha. You kiddos have fun, I guess? Bye." Pitou fled the library as fast as they had arrived.

"I apologize. You should change quickly, as lunch break will be over soon," he said to Komugi.

The lunch bell rang. Meruem sighed. "We shall meet tomorrow. The library is too far from the main buildings and will take up too much time to get here. Just sit with my group at lunch. I'll have someone wait at the entrance to bring you to our table. That is all."

Dinner was at a comfortable Italian restaurant. Warm lamps and paintings with thick frames dotted the interior. Families discussed and ate happily. The atmosphere made Meruem decidedly uncomfortable. A few minutes passed before Ging and (two? Didn't he just have one kid?) kids arrived. They went over to their table.

"Heya Kite! It's nice to see you! And Colt, Meruem, always pleasant to see your faces," Ging said, plopping down onto a chair. "This is my son, Gon," he pointed to one of the kids, a boy with spiky black hair, "And Killua, his… friend," pointing to the second one, a kid with almost white hair.

"Kite!" Gon shouted, before running up to Kite for a hug.

"Hi kid. You being good?" She said, rustling his hair.

"I think so," he replied.

After everyone had sat down and ordered, Colt spoke up. "How is East Gorteau? Kite and Meruem don't really talk about how school is."

"PE is super easy and I really like it, but math is really hard. I can't just, like, memorize all that stuff… and what am I supposed to use the midcenter of a trapezoid for? The teacher thinks I have 'potential' but I'm 'wasting it'. I don't even know what that means," Gon said.

"Tell them about the clown guy," Killua whispered, nudging Gon.

"Oh right! So earlier this week Killua and I were looking for a place outside to sit during lunch because it was really nice outside. And we sit by a tree and it's nice and we're just eating lunch or whatever. And then this guy comes up, right? And he looks kind of weird but we're nice so it's not like we did anything rude-"

"He was wearing like a clown outfit. With the creepy makeup and poofy pants and everything," Killua added.

"Yeah! And he comes up to us and says, 'Hey kids-'"

"'Want to see a magic trick?'" They both started giggling uncontrollably.

"And I say sure because man it could be a cool magic trick, who knows? And he takes out this pack of cards. He like carefully shuffles them, then throws a card right above our head. Like nailing the tree. It literally sticks in the tree. 'Lua is like what the heck dude and he just completely ignores him, and turns to me. He stares me in the eyes and says, 'You are not quite ripe, but I would like to battle you in the future when you are a fully formed fruit.' And me and Killua just run, like we just Usain Bolt out of there."

"But wait! There's more. So we think this guy is just some weirdo who was visiting the school, but he goes there now! In history class, he just shows up. And Mr. Satotz is like 'we have a new student today'. So um, yeah," Killua stopped talking when he realized everyone was listening.

"Sounds like you guys are having an interesting experience," Kite said, chuckling. "There's always gonna be someone who gives you a rough time."

"This isn't about Pitou, is it?" Meruem asked.

"I told you we were fine now. Remember, they even sewed me that weird doll, that er, looked exactly like me. Except it was strangely sharp for being a doll…"

Gon frowned. "Hey wasn't Pitou the one who broke your neck? That was really rude of them. I should fight-"

"It was just a fracture. Plus, I'm totally over it now, as Meruem and Pitou are such good friends. Quite like you and Killua," Kite said calmly.

"Almost too good friends, I'd say," Ging said, "sometimes I see Killua at my house more often than I see my own son."

Colt and Ging both laugh heartily in that weird adult laugh.

Meruem used a straw to stir his glass of water. He felt out of place, and wanted to be back at home with his ants. Meals were always so awkward. He thought back to meeting Komugi at the library. How could she be so intelligent as to win all those championships, yet not take care while it was raining? Perhaps she had somehow stumbled upon a formula to succeed.

He took out his phone. There were a few missed calls from Pouf, as always. After putting his phone down, he caught Gon's eyes across the table. Meruem was surprised to be met with such a glare. It was odd to see that amount of anger in his eyes, as by what Kite had said, he was a seemingly happy and kind kid. What could have caused that hatred that was inside of him?

 **A/N: thank u to everyone who reviewed, followed, favorited, and even just read this! I really appreciate it**


End file.
